Students at the Commonwealth Medical College had many questions on Tuesday.

"Can I pay my rent?"

"How do I get to work?"

"What do I do for childcare?"

In only their second week of classes, first-year medical students learned a lesson outside of the labs and not in a textbook. They learned about poverty.

"It's all about understanding people," said Jennifer Joyce, M.D., education director of family medicine. "We want our students to respond to their needs and not just their problems."

In the lobby of the school, groups of folding chairs represented homes. Overturned chairs meant the family had been evicted. Students were given nametags with new identities. Some were homeless. Many were parents. Others were children. A few spent time in jail.

Students walked table to table, finding transportation, visiting a pawn shop and buying groceries. They carried the little amount of fake money they earned at the employer. Each 15 minutes represented one week.

Some members of the community volunteered during the session, including Michael Hanley, executive director of United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania. He said he hoped the students received a better understanding of the struggles of many families.

"Here they're going through it in 15 minutes," he said. "It can be a lifetime for some families."

Students said the exercise was a reminder that their future patients often have a struggle meeting basic needs, such as food and shelter. Because of a lack of preventive care, people living in poverty are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions.

On Tuesday, as the students were busy trying to pay their rent or get their children to school, few said they thought about health.

"This helps us understand where people are coming from," said Bianca Collymore of New York City.

David Kugelman of Staten Island agreed.

"You can't just treat them as a disease or condition," he said. "You have to treat them as a person."

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